Natasha Romanoff
Skills From an early age, the only thing Natasha had been taught was how to kill during her stay at the Red Room, a branch of the Black Widow Ops program. There, she was trained in the art of several fighting styles which include, but certainly are not limited to, judo, karate and boxing along side with an array of weapons which include knives, daggers and firearms. She learned which methods result in the quickest death and has a natural feel for a body's pressure points, making it easy for her to knock out an opponent. However, Natasha wasn't just raised as an assassin; the Red Room raised her as a spy for the U.S.S.R. There, she learned everything she needed in order to become the world class spy she is today. Sneaking around come natural to the Black Widow and she knows better than to leave any "bread crumbs" behind; the worst thing a spy could do was leave anything behind that could be traced back to them. Natasha can easily tell if anyone is following her. Her years of training have made her an extremely observant and alert individual -- two very important skills needed in her line of work. To compliment her espionage training, Natasha is easily capable of transforming herself into a new character, whether it be Natalie Rushman from the Legal department at Stark Industries or Tatiana Sokolova, a VIP hostess at a Moscow night club, just to name a few. She is more than capable of disguising herself behind wigs and special effects make-up in order to further become that character. When developing a character, she maps out their entire life, from birth until present and doesn't skimp out on the details. She can tell you what her character's first words where, when they lost their last baby tooth, how old they were when they started riding a bike (if they ever learned), so on and so forth. As a spy, planning is always thing on her mind when she picks up a case. Without a well thought out plan, there can be no success. To say that her plans are meticulous is a bit of an understatement. Just like when she develops her characters, she plans out every stage of her plan of actions. If she needs to plan an escape, she'll make sure to set off one vehicle as a distraction before slipping away in another. Of course, Natasha is fully aware that things may not go according to plan and always leaves room for error. She's quick to think on her feet and can easily rework her plans in the matter of a few short moments. During her stay at the Red Room, Natasha was given two bracelets made up of several cylinders, all roughly three inches in length. As expected, they're not ordinary bracelets -- they're apart of her arsenal. The bracelets have several features, the most commonly used one being the shocking 30,000 volts of electricity she can fire which she calls the Widow's Bite. Another little trick she likes to use is called Widow's Kiss; with it, she releases knock-out gas that she enhances herself. She also has the Widow's Line, a simple grappling hook and small capsules of tear gas hidden away in them. While her bracelets are very durable, they are capable of breaking. If used often, Natasha can run out of both gas for her Widow's Kiss and tear gas pellets, which would require her to refill and, specifically for Widow's Kiss, recreate a new knock out gas formula as her supply is back in New York. When suited up, Natasha carries around a nifty little belt. In it, she carries small explosives, poison pellets (which vary from food poisoning to paralysis to deadly toxins) and tiny tear gas balls. She leaves some compartments free for other equipment or if she needs to store anything small during her missions. Another "gift" from the Red Room was a serum that genetically enhanced her. As a result, Natasha's aging has been prolonged, nearly coming to a halt, she has a resistant to diseases and increased rate of healing. Of course, she is only resistant to diseases known to the people of Earth. In Pandora, there's a chance she can fall ill to alien diseases, though it is unsure just how strong their affects will be on her. Also, her ability to heal faster than the average human isn't instant; Natasha's healing process happens over time just like everyone else -- it just takes a shorter time for her to get back in fighting shape. Due to her physical training, Natasha is very athletic and is in top form. She is an expert gymnast and a talented ballerina -- a skill she developed while trying to keep her cover as a spy. She is also fluent in Russian, Italian, Fresh, Spanish and Latin. While it may be extremely difficult, it is possible to catch Natasha off guard and harm her. And, although she has some genetic enhancements, she is still entirely human and can die just like everyone else. While the word "mistake" isn't a word she prefers to use, all it would take is one mistake and it's game over. Personality A common first impression of Natasha, assuming one's not meeting one of her characters, is that she's a no nonsense type of woman, which isn't far off from the truth. Natasha takes her job very seriously and certainly doesn't appreciated any unwanted distractions while on the job. As a spy, she needs to take note of everything -- everything. If she doesn't, that could mean death, so distractions are definitely something that get on her nerves and she will not put up with. In addition, Natasha isn't fond of putting up with another person's stupidity. She isn't afraid to tell them to shut up, back off and stay out of her way. Natasha is also a very self aware individual, particular when it comes to her role as a spy. She's very aware that her employers, both current and former, care not about her safety; all they want is the job done as painlessly as possible. It's obvious that if she were to die in the line of duty that her employers wouldn't bat an eye; they would toss her file aside and hire another spy. A life in espionage is a lonely, cold one -- not that it bothers Natasha. In fact, it's something she embraces. Naturally, Natasha has trust issues. She was raised to believe that no one can be trusted and, for the most part, it's something she stands by. By default, her guard is always up. While it's easy for her to detect anyone keeping tabs on her, Natasha never knows if when anyone from her past will reappear for revenge, as unlikely as it may be. She tries not to grow to attached to the people she works; however, she's managed to develop a bond with them, especially with one agent in particular. In their own ways, they've all earned her trust which isn't something that can easily be obtained. Natasha has their back and she expects the same in return. Ruthless is something commonly used to describe the spy; she will stop at nothing to make her mission successful. She feels no remorse for the people she's killed. As far as she's concerned, they were just targets -- nothing more. While Natasha would prefer a clean kill, she isn't above brutally killing anyone by whatever means necessary. If needed, the Black Widow will also partake in a bit of torture. To her, torturing is much more difficult than killing. Any Tom, Dick or Harry off the street could kill a man, but it takes true talent to torture someone. However, while she may not care about the fate of her targets, Natasha doesn't like to drag innocent third parties into her business. It's not so much that she dreads having to keep her eyes on someone else, -- that's something she can do easily. Natasha honestly doesn't want to see innocent people hurt. They have no reason to get involved; what happens between her and her targets is suppose to stay between them. Manipulation comes naturally to her as it's a key component to espionage. The woman can expertly lie through her teeth and isn't afraid to do so. She realizes that, as a woman, she's expected to be weak, both physically and mentally and, assuming that her target isn't aware that she's the infamous Black Widow, she use those to her advantage in order to get information out of others. Another tool in her little game of manipulation would be her physical appearance. Natasha is aware that, by most standards, she's a physically attractive woman; she isn't against seducing a man (or woman) to get what she needs out of them. Natasha regrets a lot of things she's done in her life; she's killed far too many people to count and innocent parties have, unfortunately, been involved. As a result, the spy actually enjoys becoming the characters she develops for missions. It's gives her a chance to pretend like she's as innocent as they are, though, in reality, it's the exact opposite. While making the transition from two people on the opposite ends of the spectrum isn't difficult for her at all, it still acts as a metaphorical shock to her system. However, this doesn't mean she hates herself. While she may enjoy pretending to be other people, she enjoys being herself even more. As expected, Natasha is an extremely independent individual. Up until joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she's done nearly all of her missions on her own. Thanks to her thorough and intense training, she is far more than capable of taking care of herself, both on the field and off. She is, however, entirely capable of working as a team, so long as they have the same common goal, are competent and don't require her to keep her eyes on them throughout the entire mission. Also, Natasha doesn't forget who owes her favors and she especially doesn't forget those who she's indebted to. If assistance is required, she'll be sure to pay a visit to old allies and remind them of how she's helped them in the past. And of course, if the situation is appropriate, she'll drop what she's doing to help those who have helped her in the past as well. Although she may seem stiff and strict on the surface, Natasha is capable of cracking a smile and having a good time with those she's closest to. She's also been known to crack a few jokes, albeit a little dark, here and there while on missions or in rescue situations. They may not be the most appropriate considering the situations, but who can blame her after everything she's seen? Lastly, she hates being called "Nat". Rarely does she never vocalize her hatred for that nickname but boy, does it rub her the wrong way. Appearance Natasha stands at 5'7" and has an athletic body thanks to her years of training and daily workout routines. Her wavy, fiery red hair falls to her chin and compliments her blue eyes. When she's not in disguise but still on the job, she dons the standard issue S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform: a navy blue jumpsuit (that she leaves unzipped in the front -- just enough to show a little cleavage) with the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia patch on both upper arms of her sleeves and calf-high boots. Over the ends of her fingerless gloves are her black bracelets, made up of several sturdy, three inch long tubes. On her waist is a belt (made out of the same material as her suit) with a metal front with the insignia of her namesake: the black and red mark of a black widow. Beneath it is her utility belt in which she stores various other tools and weapons. Strapped to her right thigh is the gun holder. When she's off the clock, Natasha opts for more casual attire: form fitting jeans, boots, T-shirts and leather jackets. The spy also has no problem taking the time to dress up nicely, donning beautiful dresses and heels if need be. Relationships *Angus McGuyver: *Clint Barton: Allies, friends *Cullen Bohannan: *Dean Winchester: *Tony Stark: Loose colleagues History Natalia Romanova was born roughly around 1928 in Stalingrad, U.S.S.R. and was orphaned shortly afterwards when Imperialist attacked the city. As if it were a miracle, the infant survived, her caretaker living long enough to hand the child over to the Comrade General Secretary Ivan Petrovitch before passing away. Ten years later, Ivan was called for military service and brought young Natalia to Moscow to give custody to another higher up party member, Taras. Then, General Secretary Stalin happened to walk by the outdoor meeting, suggesting that the young child be enrolled Taras' Black Widows Ops program -- specifically, the Red Room program -- a facility where orphaned girls, such as Natalia, train in the art of espionage and several fighting techniques. She stayed with the Red Room for many years. There, those in charge had taken it upon themselves to not only enhance her genes in order to create a better spy, but they also implanted false memories -- a common method used in order to make sure that all the girls in the Black Widow Ops program remained loyal. Several years down the line, Taras was murdered and she let her killer run free simply because she liked him more than the man who she saw as a father. Three months later, after leaving the Red Room, she found her former caretaker, Ivan, who had recently gone A.W.O.L. from his company in the midst of World War II. There, he vowed to get her away before the higher ups at the Red Room could find her and kill her. It was then Ivan vowed to never leave her side. However, Ivan was shot dead on the streets of Berlin in 1956. A year later, in 1957, Natalia returned to Russia as a commander in the Soviet forces and it was in General Pushkin's office where she met Colonel Alexei Shostakov. It was also there where she adopted the name "Natasha" after she told Alexei to call her by whatever name wanted. During this time, Natasha began to realize how she had so many conflicting memories. She was a ballerina in one, a Black Widows Ops in another, married in one and single in another. Something was wrong, she just didn't know what. Shortly after they met, the colonel and Natasha were engaged to be married. The confusion between what were her real memories and which were false was growing more apparent. Six weeks later, at a Soviet Special Forces barrack, Ivan had come to discuss her marriage and it was there where she secretly confessed that she was entirely unsure about what was real and what was a lie. In 1963, her husband Alexei was killed during a mishap in the great space race between the Soviets and the Western forces. While she had been offered retirement, a chance at a normal life, she denied it, although didn't exactly come across as sane. Natasha was still mentally fighting over her memories; one moment she was an ordinary housewife and the next she was a world class spy. She requested that she take part in a mission against the West in order to avenge her husbands death and, while both Ivan and her superior, Krushchev, were apprehensive, they granted her wish in hopes of her coming to terms with her true identity. It took her some time, but Natasha finally came to terms with who she really was and that was the Black Widow. Over the years, she had a heavy stake in Russian espionage against the West and, as a result, she caught the attention of a secret military organization in the West, known as S.H.I.E.L.D. They had sent one of their agents, Clint Barton, to kill her, and he could have. The archer was talented enough to keep up with her and he could have fired one of his arrows at her, however, he decided to go against his orders and spared her life. He returned to America, bringing Natasha along with him and she promptly became a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., revoked her Russsian citizenship and became an American citizen. Near the turn of the century, Natasha had been ordered to go to Rhapastan in order to intercept a new bio-weapon developed by Doctor Didier Ines. While doing her job in one of their warehouses, she came across another Red Room student, Yelena Belova. The young girl stated that she was the first to ever surpass Natasha's high marks and that she deserved to be the Black Widow. She was determined to do so by killing her, however, Natasha wasn't about to sit back and let anyone else become her. The two fought on and off over the course of the entire mission, a battle that jumped from Rhapastan, to Zurich (where she faked her death thanks to the help of some boys at S.H.I.E.L.D.), then back to Rhapastan. While the young Yelena was unsuccessful, Natasha helped her discover what made her unique as a spy and the two developed a dynamic and interesting relationship overtime. Years later, under Colonel Fury's orders, Natasha took on the persona of Natalie Rushman and entered Stark Industries. She was ordered to get close to the man in charge, Tony Stark -- the man known as Iron Man -- and assess if he was the right fit for "The Avengers Initiative". She started at the very bottom of the latter in the legal department. It was boring and she couldn't deal with the lecherous lawyers in a way she would if she wasn't under cover, but it's what she needed to do. Natasha's character had developed a solid working relationship with Samantha Carisle, a woman in her department, and discovered that she had similar plans as her. When word got out that Tony Stark had stepped down and appointed Pepper Potts as the new CEO of Stark Industries, Natasha knew this was her chance. After slipping a poison tablet in Samantha's coffee (it wasn't anything lethal, it just gave her the appearance of having food poisoning), Natasha was the one assigned as the notary and sent to Malibu in order to get the documents signed. Afterwards, she was hired as Potts' personal assistant, which naturally meant that she would be around Mr. Stark quite often. Tony hosted birthday celebration gone wrong for himself, she came out as a spy and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to him with Fury ensuring that Stark keep her identity a secret. Later in the week, both her and Pepper attended Justin Hammer's weapon's expo where he showcased his latest line of drones. However, somehow the drones were being controlled by an outside force. After Iron Man had swooped in to draw the drones away from the public, Natasha and Pepper rushed backstage to the command station. There, she slammed Hammer's head into the desk in order to find out that Ivan Vanko was behind all this and that he could be found at Hammer Industries. Natasha broke into the company and easily took out the security guards in her way. Unfortunately, Vanko managed to get away, but she was able to recalibrate the suit being piloted by James Rhodes and assist both him and Stark by informing them about incoming drones. After everything was said and done, she filled out her report on Stark where she deemed Iron Man suitable for The Avengers Initiative but not the man inside the suit as a result of erratic behaviour throughout the week. Black Widow returned to Russia shortly there after for another mission in order to retrieve some bootleg Starktech. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan. Just as she was about to interrogate Mikhail Fjodorov, he was shot dead by another assassin who pinned the blame on her and she was chased away. The next day, she discovered that the assassin from the night before wanted to challenge her for her title. While the woman put up an incredible fight, she eventually failed, much like Yelena, and Natasha remained her title as the Black Widow. S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually got its hands on the Tesseract and, while in the midst of another mission in Russia, the artifact began to react, opening a portal in which Loki came out of. Before obliterating one of their ground bases, the demi god stole the Tesseract and turned both Dr. Erik Selvig and Clint Barton into his slaves by taking over their minds. After learning about Barton's fate, Natasha learned that The Avengers Initiative was coming into affect and she was sent to India to retrieve Doctor Bruce Banner, also known as The Hulk. After Captain America himself, Steve Rogers, Stark and Banner were gathered, the four of them located Loki in Stuttgart, Germany. They captured the crazed god and, after coming across Thor, brought him to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s airbase where they imprisoned him. Natasha would then find out that this was his plan all along and that he intended to unleash The Hulk. His mission was a success. Barton was easily able to infiltrate the base and it was attacked, The Hulk was unleashed and he caused massive damage to the base. Throughout all the chaos, Natasha was able to locate Barton and fought him off and knocked him out, allowing him to regain control of his mind once more. The once divided team came together when they learned about the death of fellow agent, Phil Coulsen. Together, The Avengers set off to New York to fight off Loki and his alien army, the Chitauri in New York City. Realizing they wouldn't get anywhere with the Tesseract's portal hanging above the city, Natasha set off to find a way to close it. Just as she jumped onto the roof of Stark Towers, black cords wrapped around the spy and dragged her into Pandora. Pandora History